The Winery, Surry Hills

Tucked away behind the Thomas Dux store on Crown St is the newest baby from the lovely people that brought us the Gazebo Wine Garden. Lisa and I were quite fond of Gazebo and she knew for several months leading up to it that they would be opening up a place in Surry Hills, since she did some work for them (she designed the sign in the photo above, how awesome is that?) So when we heard about its opening several weeks ago, we were eager to book ourselves in to check it out, and so was Lili...and so we did.

It was a cold Thursday night and the place was absolutely buzzing and overflowing with people; this was obviously the shiny new place to be in Surry Hills. It was a good thing we had booked in advance, apparently there was a long waiting list to get a seat in the non-reserved area. They have an absolutely gorgeous space to themselves on Crown St, a two story building which has all the ecletic charm that I remembered from the original Gazebo Wine Garden, but this time with a stunning view of the city.

We have a little time to check out the inside before we are seated, it has that quirky 'outdoors-inside' feel with greenery all over the walls and mismatched chairs and benches all over. Ooh look theres shiny looking wine dispensers in the wall!

The upstairs is meant to be quite lovely as well, and I managed to sneak a peak up there at some point in the night; there are deer head lamp decorations on the wall and cute vintage lampshades all over the tables. It's all very charming and has a dim, warm feel to it. We eventually end up on one of the outdoor tables downstairs, with the city lights twinkling in the background. Taking a quick glance at the menu, it is exactly the same as the Gazebo menu - I suppose this made it easier during the early days of opening, rather than starting off with a brand new menu. Hopefully in the future the menu will be slightly different to the one at Elizabeth Bay.

The Cups Estate "Silver Dune" 04 ($12 glass/$53 bottle)

Thanks to Lisa's work connection, we manage to score ourselves a bar tab which pays for our bottle of Pinot, which is very nice indeed. We have no trouble making a dent in it while we wait for our food. We had a hilariously cute and every so slightly hyper waitress who took very good care of us, though the wait for the food was a bit longer than expected.

Veal & chorizo sausage roll sliced, pear & green onion chutney ($18.00)

First up was a plate of sausage rolls for all of us to share, apparently these were the crowd favourite at their opening party, and it's easy to see why. The meat is moist and melts in your mouth and just packed full of flavour. Though it seems a little dense, if the sausage was any less tightly packed it would just be a falling apart mess, so it makes sense. Although we all adore the sausage roll, none of us are fans of the pear and green onion chutney, which has a strange aftertaste that just didn't seem to match the flavour of the meat.

West Aussie crab tossed with giant pasta shells, tomato, Sauv blanc & chilli ($25.00)

I was excited to get a nut-cracker along with my cutlery after ordering the crab pasta, and happy to see the giant claw in the middle of the plate that was set down in front of me. It usually takes a lot to get me interested in a pasta dish when I'm eating out casually, but this was fab. The pasta was cooked perfectly and those big fat shells were perfect for scooping up the shredded crab meat and spicy tomato sauce. It was a fresh and light dish, though the meat that I retrieved after cracking open the claw was a little mushy.

Champagne, grape & dijon chicken pie, on a bed of buttered spinach ($23.00)

Please excuse my terrible pictures of Lili's pie and Lisa's steak, but contrary to the ugly appearance of the pie, it is a really yummy dish. I remember absolutely loving it when I had it at Gazebo and it was just as good this time. Most people wrinkle their nose at the idea of grapes inside a pie, but it seriously works so don't knock it til you've tried it. Lisa was in the mood for a big steak and by the look on her face she was definitely not disappointed.

Char-grilled sirloin steak, shoestring chips, café de Paris butter ($25.00)

As per usual, we could not go past ordering dessert even if we weren't that hungry anymore. So we get the usual favourites - the date tart and the hairy brownie. They are both super sweet and satisfying, though I still can't figure out what that slice of ruby grapefruit under the tart is for.

Golden mascarpone & sugared date tart, ice cream ($13.00), Chocolate brownie, ice cream, fairy floss, chocolate sauce ($13.00)

By the end of it all we are perfectly satisfied and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Winery definitely holds all the charm and quirkiness of the original Gazebo Wine Garden, and with that great view, enormous wine list and great atmosphere it will surely draw a big crowd at night. It's definitely not cheap (you're paying more than 20 dollars for pie after all) but it's no more expensive than most places in Surry Hills, and the food definitely exceeds expectations. It's all those little details that count, it's what makes it memorable.

The Winery by Gazebo
285A Crown St,
Surry Hills NSW 2010
(through the old sandstone gates, next to Thomas Dux)

Mon-Thurs: from 3pm
Fri-Sun: from Noon